BRENT Sutter sure sounds like a man whose heart is in Red Deer, whose life is in Alberta and whose head couldn’t be farther from Newark. Fair enough.

But now it’s time for general manager Lou Lamoriello to make it easy for Sutter to follow his heart by relieving the Devils’ head coach of the obligation to fulfill the third and final year of his contract.

It’s time for the general manager to get on with the business of finding a coach who wants to be in New Jersey for the long-term rather than continuing with one who would operate as a lame duck only out of a sense of responsibility.

There’s no need for Sutter to continue to agonize over his decision. Lamoriello should make it for him and make it for him now, even if that would allow Sutter to immediately slide into the head coach’s position in Calgary that became vacant on Friday when GM Darryl Sutter fired Mike Keenan.

There is no point in holding him hostage to a contract. There is no point in holding the Devils hostage to a lame duck whose authority over the team would invariably be compromised. There is no point to having a short-timer in control of the operation.

It’s unclear whether the Devils are entitled to negotiate compensation for Brent Sutter. Previous NHL rulings on such matters wouldn’t seem to apply in this unique case. In any event, Brent’s time has come and gone in New Jersey, regardless of whether Lamoriello can wrangle a draft pick from the Flames for the right to hire their GM’s younger brother.

Sutter did an outstanding job in his two seasons behind the bench, notably this year in guiding the Devils to the Atlantic championship despite the injury to Martin Brodeur. His absence from the list of nominees for the Adams Trophy as coach of the year is indefensible.

Indeed, following a stretch in which the Devils chewed up eight coaches in seven seasons (including Larry Robinson twice and Lamoriello himself twice) that featured two Stanley Cup championships and one other appearance in the Final, it appeared that the team had found its man. Now, not, for if Sutter’s return is not quite implausible, it is unworkable, and Lamoriello must know that.

So who’s next? Well, Peter Laviolette, whose name is in the mix in Montreal, certainly would be a viable candidate. Knowing Lamoriello’s penchant for hiring former Canadiens, Guy Carbonneau probably would be on the list. Todd Richards, the San Jose assistant, is the hot candidate around the league.

Then there’s Jacques Lemaire, free after stepping down in Minnesota to return to the organization he put on the NHL map in 1993-94. It is almost inconceivable that Lamoriello would hire a coach who is wedded to the trap, but there is a history between the men; a bond and a trust. That’s why it’s essential to include “almost” as a qualifier.

There is, however, no need to qualify the Devils’ need to move past Sutter, and to do it now, even if it’s a shame. Sutter was a great fit for the Devils. But that’s in past tense. It’s time to move on.

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No, he will not be first on the Rangers’ wish list — “Gee, we wish we had drafted Zach Parise; gee, we wish we hadn’t given Scott Gomez, Chris Drury and Wade Redden all that money; gee, we wish we had traded for Billy Guerin instead of Nik Antropov — but when July 1 rolls around, impending free agent Mike Knuble will emerge as a person of significant interest.

And the interest is likely to be mutual.

Knuble, who had a previous tour of duty on Broadway as a fledgling during the Dark Ages, scored 27 goals for the Flyers this year, 11 on the power play. He always is around the net, a quick stick impossible to move, and would provide the presence that coach John Tortorella covets and the Rangers lack. He’s also a leader, a character player who would ease some of the burden on Drury inside the room.

Subtracting Antropov, Markus Naslund, Nikolai Zherdev (probably), Paul Mara, Aaron Voros, Blair Betts and Colton Orr from the roster leaves the Rangers with 110 NHL goals on their team. It doesn’t matter that Knuble will be 37 on July 4. It matters that he can score and probably is affordable.

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It would be one thing for the NHL to bend over for a television network from which it receives massive rights fees, that would be understandable, but genuflecting for NBC, whose deal nets approximately $100,000 per team — is a scandal that demands inspection.

What strange form of obedience is it, exactly, that has prompted commissioner Gary Bettman to destroy the NHL’s playoff scheduling in order to satisfy NBC’s whims?

The scheduled gaps in games during the conference finals have derailed the momentum that followed the first two terrific rounds. The scheduling of back-to-back games to open the Finals with a potential Game 7 apparently set for June 16, is an absurdity.

Everyone recognizes this. Everyone except for Bettman.

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Finally, having Dave Jackson, Dan O’Halloran, Kevin Pollock and Bill McCreary officiate the conference finals is kind of like having the Thrashers, Islanders, Avalanche and Lightning playing the games, isn’t it?